In this episode of By Any Means Necessary, hosts Sean Blackmon and Jacquie Luqman are joined by Lee Camp, stand-up comedian, writer, activist and author of “Bullet Points and Punch Lines: The Most Important Commentary Ever Written On the Epic American Tragicomedy” to discuss the second Summit for Democracy co-hosted by the US and what the true character of US democracy is, how the inclusion of states like Israel reveals the true purpose of this summit as a diplomatic tool rather than a summit to promote democratic values, and the hypocrisy of US declarations on human rights in other countries as the human rights situation within the US continues to decline.
In the second segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by independent journalist Rick Sterling to discuss the potential re-establishment of ties between Saudi Arabia and Syria and the implications that could have on US dominance in the Middle East, how this fits into the growing trend of Middle Eastern countries forging closer ties with Russia and China, continued airstrikes in Syria by the US and Israel against alleged Iranian targets, and how this shift might affect the sanctions regime imposed by the US on Syria.
In the third segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Natalia Marques, writer and organizer from New York City to discuss the killing of John Collado by undercover NYPD officer James Connolly and how Connolly managed to avoid accountability, how the media parroted the narrative about the killing peddled by the NYPD and demonized Collado, and how organizers against police injustice in New York City have campaigned to name streets after victims.
Later in the show, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Ted Rall, award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist, and author of the graphic novel, "The Stringer," to discuss the Summit for Democracy and why the structure of US democracy is fundamentally anti-democratic, how this can be seen most directly in Joe Biden’s failures to keep his campaign promises and in some cases violating them, and how grassroots movements represent the way forward toward another system that is democratic.
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